I guestimated my federal return and it looks like I will break even or get a couple hundred back. The feds got dodgy with the child tax credit this year...you only get it if your kid is under 17 at year end and guess who turned 17 this year Ah well.

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?"Jeremiah 22:16

Celebrated New Year by waking up to gunfire in CA instead of TX. Nothing came down on us so I went back to sleep.

I remember that from New Year celebrations in Las Cruces. One time, when I was at a party close to the barrio, at midnight all of us went outside to hear the festivities. After about 30 seconds of the usual gun shots, we heard bursts of automatic weapon fire. Every January 1st, the nightly news from El Paso would do a story on yet another sleeping baby that was killed by a falling bullet. All the PSAs in the world didn't make a dent in the tradition of midnight bang-bang.

Here in The Buff, it's a few people with leftover illegal fireworks from Independence Day.

Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. -- Edward Abbey

Celebrated New Year by waking up to gunfire in CA instead of TX. Nothing came down on us so I went back to sleep.

Where in CA are you at? Stayed at home for the 1st time ever since I was probably 13. the wife, princess and i stayed up watching the karate kid till about 10:30 then some boob tube till midnight. She promptly went to bed at 12:15..so did we

A few years ago I made a goal of completing a triathlon before I turned 35. Well, 35 is quickly approaching and I have yet to complete that goal. There's a sprint triathlon in July that I'm beginning to think about participating in. From what I've read it appears that one can train for a sprint triathlon in about 3 months. So I have some time to train. I figure I can push through the bike ride and the run, my biggest concern is the swim.

A few years ago I made a goal of completing a triathlon before I turned 35. Well, 35 is quickly approaching and I have yet to complete that goal. There's a sprint triathlon in July that I'm beginning to think about participating in. From what I've read it appears that one can train for a sprint triathlon in about 3 months. So I have some time to train. I figure I can push through the bike ride and the run, my biggest concern is the swim.

I assume the sprint is 750 m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. If that is the case, if you can get in shape for the run, you can relax on the bike and make it through. The swim is first, so you don't drown 750m is only 15 down and backs in a normal sized pool. Really not that bad... as long as you aren't in a body of water with currents

Good luck! The sense of completion you will feel is great! I would say that if you aren't in shape for any of the three disiplines, 3 months is cutting it close, but if you scheduled on for July or August, I would say 5-7 months is more than enough time to get accustomed to the workouts. But in the end it is really up to you and how well you want to do. If completion = success you will be fine in 3 months Have fun, they are a lot of it!!

=============================

Here's to hoping that 2011 is as fruitful as 2010 was for the RTDNTOTO!!!!

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams

I assume the sprint is 750 m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. If that is the case, if you can get in shape for the run, you can relax on the bike and make it through. The swim is first, so you don't drown 750m is only 15 down and backs in a normal sized pool. Really not that bad... as long as you aren't in a body of water with currents

Good luck! The sense of completion you will feel is great! I would say that if you aren't in shape for any of the three disiplines, 3 months is cutting it close, but if you scheduled on for July or August, I would say 5-7 months is more than enough time to get accustomed to the workouts. But in the end it is really up to you and how well you want to do. If completion = success you will be fine in 3 months Have fun, they are a lot of it!!

15 laps? Ok. That is doable. Maybe. I hope. Better get out the water wings!

My goal is to finish. I'm not concerned with time, just making it over the finish line in one piece!

I did a triathlon once that started with biking (on exercise bikes) first, then the swim, and the run last. A number of competitors overdid the bike and nearly drowned in the pool. Tough transition from bike to swim and anaerobic swimming is not a good thing.

“Death comes when memories of the past exceed the vision for the future.”

"We do not need any other Tutankhamun's tomb with all its treasures. We need context. We need understanding. We need knowledge of historical events to tie them together. We don't know much. Of course we know a lot, but it is context that's missing, not treasures." - Werner Herzog, in Archaeology, March/April 2011